Briefly

Briefly

Article excerpt

BATON ROUGE, La. -- In a move certain to bolster his national
standing with conservatives, Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal sued the
Obama administration Wednesday, hoping to strike a blow against the
controversial Common Core education standards and raising his
profile as he builds a likely presidential campaign.

Jindal's lawsuit accuses the Department of Education of illegally
manipulating federal money and regulations to force states to adopt
Common Core by dangling $4.3 billion in grants and policy waivers
that encouraged them to adopt uniform standards and testing.

NATION

MOTHER OF U.S. REPORTER IN SYRIA BEGS FOR HIS LIFE: The mother of
a hostage American journalist pleaded for his release Wednesday in a
video directed at the Islamic State group, while new images emerged
of mass killings, including masked militants shooting kneeling men
after the capture of a strategic air base in Syria.

Shirley Sotloff's plea came as a U.N. commission accused the
group, which dominates a broad swath of territory spanning the Syria-
Iraq border, of committing crimes against humanity and President
Barack Obama weighs options for targeting the extremists' stronghold
in Syria.

The Islamic State militants have threatened to kill 31-year-old
Steven Sotloff unless the U.S. halts its airstrikes against it.

DAD ACQUITTED IN SLAYING OF DRIVER WHO KILLED SONS: A southeast
Texas man says that despite his acquittal Wednesday for the shooting
death of the drunken driver who caused a crash that killed his two
sons, there are no winners.

"This was a loss for everybody," said a visibly relieved David
Barajas, who cried and hugged his wife, Cindy, after the verdict was
read.

Prosecutors had alleged that Barajas killed Jose Banda, 20, in a
fit of rage after Banda plowed into Barajas and his sons while they
were pushing a truck on a rural road near their home because it had
run out of gas. David Jr., 12, and Caleb, 11, were killed.

REPORT: FBI PROBES JPMORGAN HACK: The FBI is investigating a
hacking attack on JPMorgan Chase and at least one other bank,
according to reports citing unnamed sources familiar with the
matter. …